One is the answer. Park Sung-hwan, a senior in the Dept. of Urban Administration, is the only handicapped-student you can see in the school. The UOS has allowed just about 10 students, who had some physical difficult-ies, since the school was established. In addition, most of them are leg-disabled. In 1993, when Shin Yong-taek, a graduate in the Dept. of English Language & Literature, entered the UOS, there were a lot of arguments among professors regarding his admittance to enter the school. Shin was physically-handicapped, they finally decided to approve him. If he had another difficulty, such as blindness, deafness or etc., he would never have been allowed the admission to the school.
The UOS circumstances
There are two types of facilities for handicapped people; inclined sidewalks or elevators instead of stairs, and special wash rooms. The both are required in the Building Standards Act. However not all the buildings follow these rules. According to the law, they have to make the incline degree at 1:12. But for the Social Science and Architecture & Civil Engineering Buildings, the law is not applied. Disabled people cannot go up on the ramp easily. Mr. Park usually rides on a wheel, moving by motor. He has to get a enough distance to go up the slope. After unsafely moving up, he goes down by skidding down the road. The brakes are of no use in this situation. Especially, it is very dangerous and unattainable to ride up the front of the Student Hall on rainy or snowy days. The worse thing is that the other 6 buildings do not even have any of these requirements in place.
Another problem is the wash rooms for the handicapped. They are also not established in every building. Even though some have been built, there are a lot of difficulties in using them. Not all floors have special rest rooms, and the existing ones are often locked or are being used for other purposes. For example, some rest rooms are stuffed with all sorts of articles like storage rooms. Because of this situation, when a disabled man wants to go to the restroom, he has to choose a special building with a proper room.
One more difficulty is the stairs. As well as outside stairs, inside stairs, that is on the same floor, make handicapped people helpless.
In the Natural Science Building the elevator can be used only above the 4th floor. Or when Mr. Park uses it in Central Library, he has to ask the guard to open the elevator for the handicapped since it is always locked to prevent other students from using it.
Except convenient facilities, they consistently said that they feel unpleasant with the lack of recognition. All over the country, not to mention the school officials, people have been spreading ideas that is wasteful to spend money for handicapped people. Not many architects think it is necessary for annexed establishments. Nor are there other ways to explain the titular wash rooms. They ask an official to open the handicapped elevator in the Central Library and they can find, after finishing their work, the elevator is locked again.
Students’ indifferent reactions make them feel discouraged. In fact, Mr. Shin said he was a very active person and affiliated in the students body of the Liberal Arts and Natural Science, and GSC. However, what he received from student was basically unconcern. If there is any help from the bottom of students’ hearts, it would be for ground entrances for handicapped-students.
Solution
In personal, the disabled people have a lot of friends especially in their departments who can help them. However when they are late to class or alone, its difficulty is still here.
They’ve insisted on asking officials to build more facilities. Actually it was the result of their demands for the establishment of the inclined sidewalk with iron railings on the Social Science building, Student Hall and others. "With their complaints, the school will rebuild adequate facilities after researching each building’s real problem" said one school official.
After establishing appropriate facilities and having more sympa-thy, we hope that we can see more handicapped students moving around by themselves with less difficulty.
Han Jung-mee
amiga3@dreamwiz.com